Fussier
by knightshade
Summary: There's more than one way to go about most tasks. Not surprisingly, the FLAG team each has their own approach. A day in the life type short.


Title: Fussier

Author: knightshade

Fandom: Knight Rider

Rating: G

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. Glen A. Larson has the privilege.

Summary: There's more than one way to go about most tasks. Not surprisingly, the FLAG team each has their own approach. A day in the life type short.

**Fussier**

Bonnie sighed, ran a hand through her hair and pushed back from her computer.

"Everything alright?" Devon asked, looking up from his paperwork.

"Yes. I'm just tired of sitting." She got up and stretched her back. Two days on the road was starting to wear on her. The semi was comfortable, but after a two week case and travel between Los Angeles and Knoxville, TN, she had had her fill of it. And they were still four hours from home. "I'm going to put on a pot of coffee."

She made her way into the kitchen, expertly moving with the trailer's sway. She had long ago developed sea legs. She retrieved the filters from an overhead cabinet but then set them down on the counter and changed her mind. "Actually, I think I'm in the mood for tea. Would you like a cup?" she called out.

There was a pause and then Devon appeared at the kitchen doorway. "Actually, I could stand to stretch my legs as well. I'd be happy to make a pot."

Bonnie laughed. "I didn't mean that you needed to get up. I can get it."

Devon seemed to pause somewhat awkwardly. "Actually, I prefer my tea brewed the British way. I mean no disrespect, but you brew tea like an American."

Bonnie couldn't help the smile that crooked at the corner of her mouth. "I didn't realize there were different ways to brew tea. How exactly does one make English tea?"

"_Real _tea, you mean?"

It took a lot of effort not to roll her eyes. "I'll let that one slide."

Devon smiled and launched himself into the effort, in full professor mode. "You see, my dear, the temperature of the water is vitally important. It must be at the boiling point for the tea to brew properly."

He put the kettle on the stovetop and pulled the teapot and cups out of the cabinet. Once the water had begun boiling, he poured some into the pot, swirled it, and dumped it back out, setting the kettle back on the burner. "It's also important to add the water to the tea. Not vice versa. Otherwise the tea will float in the cooler surface water."

He carefully measured 3 teaspoons of loose tea into the pot. Then he added the boiling water from the kettle, replaced the cover, and let it steep. After a few minutes he carefully poured the caramel colored liquid through a strainer, into the waiting tea cups and handed one to Bonnie.

She added her customary touch of honey and sipped it. She was not surprised to find that it didn't taste any different than when she brewed it. It must be her less refined American taste buds.

"You see the difference, my dear?" Devon asked expectantly.

Devon would always be Devon and Bonnie wouldn't want it any other way. In the interests of keeping the peace, she decided to humor him. Adopting her best imitation of his accent, she said, "Indeed."

OoOoO

Michael was sitting in Bonnie's chair in the semi, his feet propped on her computer desk, a newspaper over his face pretending to sleep.

"Michael, really?" Kitt complained.

Michael was about to respond but he heard steps outside followed by the knob to the semi's side door turning. He affected a loud, obnoxious snore.

He heard the faintest of sighs. "Welcome back, Kitt," Bonnie said. Michael smiled under the newspaper. She always gave his partner top billing, even when he wasn't being a pain.

"Hello, Bonnie," Kitt answered.

She set something heavy down next to Michael's feet and pulled the newspaper off his face. "If you were bored, you could have met up with us."

Michael feigned waking up. "What was that?"

"Why didn't you meet us? I could have started Kitt's maintenance sooner."

Michael kicked his legs down. "More fun to complain. I assume you had an uneventful trip."

"Yes. The highlight was probably being schooled on how to properly make tea the British way."

Michael smirked. "And what is the British way?"

"It's like the American way only fussier."

Michael nodded. "That fits. I think I can one up you though."

"Oh?"

Michael got up and patted Kitt's trunk. His partner obliged by popping it open. Michael retrieved the project that had entertained him during the trip. "I build model airplanes the human way."

He handled the model triplane to Bonnie who immediately started to inspect it. "Wow. You built this?" she asked.

"From a kit, yes. I used to build them as a kid."

"You built it on the road?" she asked.

"Yep. With Kitt tooling along at 75 mph." More or less anyway.

Bonnie's eyes jumped in Kitt's direction.

Michael gave an exaggerated sigh. "There's not a drop of glue or paint on the upholstery, I swear."

Bonnie smiled. "I'm just impressed that you were able to do such a good job in a moving car."

He decided not to call her on what was obviously a little white lie.

"It's really nice, Michael," she continued, sounding genuinely impressed.

"See, pal, Bonnie doesn't see anything wrong with it."

"Nor would I expect her to. She's human as well."

"As far as we know," Michael quipped.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "So what's wrong with it, Kitt?"

"Bonnie, the kit Michael bought is a scale replica of the Red Baron's Fokker Dr.I WWI triplane. It's exact down to the placement of the rivets."

"Ok."

"It also calls out the correct color of paint for the Red Baron's plane. Red 1019. But they were out of red 1019 at the store. So Michael used red 1016."

Bonnie tried to cover her smile with her hand, but Michael doubted that was going to hide anything from Kitt.

"Why buy an exact scale replica if you are not going to make it exact?" Kitt continued.

"I told you, I was building it for fun and the store was out of red 1019."

"But Michael, we had to have passed at least 100 stores between Knoxville and Los Angeles that probably had the correct color."

"I didn't want to wait, pal. It just wasn't that important to me."

"Then why buy a scale replica?"

"Because it looked nice, pal. And it still looks nice, even with red 1016."

"Bonnie, surely you understand my point?"

"Understand it, yes," she said, rather disingenuously, Michael thought.

"But you don't agree?"

Bonnie shot Michael a glance. "Despite suspicion to the contrary, I'm on the human team. But maybe next time we come back from the eastern US, you and Devon can ride together."

Michael laughed. "That's a good idea."

"I don't want to know, do I?" Kitt groused.

"Well, pal, Bonnie and I have the misfortune of being both human and American. Maybe the British way of things, while still inexactly human, will be closer to the far fussier AI way."

"Very funny, Michael."

OoOoO

-knightshade

05/10/2014


End file.
